The Sword of Medina: A Novel [Hardcover]

Sherry Jones (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 15, 2009

Before dying, Muhammad left his jeweled sword, al-Ma'thur, to A'isha, telling her to use it in the jihad to come. But what if the jihad is against her own people? After 20 years of distrust and anger, can A'isha and Ali come together to preserve the future of their people and their faith--or will their hatred of each other destroy everything Muhammad worked to build? This climactic sequel to the controversial [i]The Jewel of Medina[/i] returns to 7th century Arabia to discover whether, after fighting a civil war, a people can ever truly heal.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. This able novel, sequel to Jones's controversial bestseller The Jewel of Medina, continues to examine the history of Islam, a topic unfamiliar to most Americans. Jones imbues her 7th century tale with rich personalities and honorable motives, following a course of events that most Muslims can agree on, taking place between Muhammed's death and the reign of the first four Rightly-Guided Caliphs. Aside from the taboo of depicting a fictional Muhammed, Jones also skrits controversy with sexual tension between A'isha (child bride and favorite wife of Muhammed) and her cousin Talha, described with romance-novel breathlessness. Still, Jones largely sticks to what is known, rendering characters human without any irreverence. Sharing narration with A'isha is her brother-in-law Ali; the two tell vastly different versions of events, beginning with Muhammed's death and culminating in a battle led by A'isha against Ali. Jones handles skillfully the adversaries' peculiar combination of mutual respect and enmity; the rest of her fictionalized history comes alive with delicate, determined prose. Fortunately for readers, this volume was saved by Beaufort after Muslim extremists forced editors at Random House to pull the plug, making this not just a rollicking lesson in Islamic history but a victory over the forces of censorship.

Review

This able novel, sequel to Jones's controversial bestseller The Jewel of Medina, continues to examine the history of Islam, a topic unfamiliar to most Americans. Jones imbues her 7th century tale with rich personalities and honorable motives, following a course of events that most Muslims can agree on, taking place between Muhammed's death and the reign of the first four Rightly-Guided Caliphs. Aside from the taboo of depicting a fictional Muhammed, Jones also skrits controversy with sexual tension between A'isha (child bride and favorite wife of Muhammed) and her cousin Talha, described with romance-novel breathlessness. Still, Jones largely sticks to what is known, rendering characters human without any irreverence. Sharing narration with A'isha is her brother-in-law Ali; the two tell vastly different versions of events, beginning with Muhammed's death and culminating in a battle led by A'isha against Ali. Jones handles skillfully the adversaries' peculiar combination of mutual respect and enmity; the rest of her fictionalized history comes alive with delicate, determined prose. Fortunately for readers, this volume was saved by Beaufort after Muslim extremists forced editors at Random House to pull the plug, making this not just a rollicking lesson in Islamic history but a victory over the forces of censorship. -- Publisher's Weekly (October 2009)

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Beaufort Books (October 15, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0825305209
• ISBN-13: 978-0825305207
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #116,367 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Author of "The Jewel of Medina," the internationally best-selling historical novel about the early life of A'isha, youngest and most beloved wife of the Prophet Muhammad, and "The Sword of Medina," about A'isha's fascinating later life and her role in the first Islamic civil war. My third novel, about four sisters in 13th-century Provence who all became queens, is scheduled for publication in spring/summer 2012 by Simon and Schuster Gallery.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Terrific Book!, September 27, 2009

By 

Ian Page - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sword of Medina: A Novel (Hardcover)

I just finished the Sword of Medina - it was compelling, entertaining and a fun way to increase my knowledge of Islam. The fast paced presentation of Aisha and Ali `s personalities and intentions gave me an intimate insight into two of history's most influential people. The Sword of Medina is well written and intelligent, combining playfulness with painful human decisions. I identified with Aisha and Ali's struggles to assume both competing and complementary positions of power amid the intrigue of trust, deceit and misunderstanding that caused the Battle of the Camel -Islam's historic civil war. Again historical fiction is more fascinating than purely imagination based literature.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Sniveling Rubbish, September 26, 2009

By 

Victor Ferreira (Petticoat Junction) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Sword of Medina: A Novel (Hardcover)

The sequel to one of the worst examples of controversy-seeking trash fiction is now available. If you read "The Jewel of Medina" and didn't think a worse case of literary self-absorption could be manifested, then by all means read Jones' latest attempt to incite a firestorm of controversy.

This is pretty much what you would expect from someone who calls herself a journalist and whose contributions to journalism are tour guides for motorcyclists. If you want to read a squalid romance novel, hacked with a machete out of a mountain of melted purple crayon, now's your chance.

If you have any need to read a fictional account of the life of Mohammed and Aisha, your interests will be much better served by reading "The Mother of the Believers," by Kamran Pasha. If nothing else, at least he knows how to write.

If you think the 5-star reviews here are from actual readers rather than friends, relatives and colleagues of the author, consider this book was published in October of 2009 and then look at the sales figures. Enough said?

I eagerly await the third in this series: THE HONOR KILLING OF MEDINA. It's about Aisha as a teenager walking the streets when a gust of wind blows her abbaya so that a spot of ankle is seen by one and all. Having sullied the escutcheon of a once proud family, the bratty little tart is buried up to her neck and stoned to death. Mohammed's honor is restored and everyone lives happily ever after.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 7th Century Political Intrigue, September 28, 2009

By 

Todd Mowbray - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Sword of Medina: A Novel (Hardcover)

This is a wonderfully vibrant and dynamic continuation of the story of A'isha, Muhammad's favorite wife and spiritual/political confidant. It is told in multiple viewpoints - primarily those of A'isha and Ali as they wrestle for both power and control of Muhammad's legacy. This struggle culminates in the cataclysmic Battle of The Camel, where the two factions meet on the battlefield and set the stage for the split between Sunni and Shi'ite. A'isha and Ali are great, strong characters and we get a detailed picture of their mental landscape, both intellectual and emotional as they work their way toward the climax. Some of this landscape, of course, is the product of informed creativity as is all historical fiction. Historical fiction may not always pass muster as textbooks in a college graduate course in history, but for the vast bulk of readers who are not minutely informed about the events in this book, it gives us an accurate picture of Who, What, When, and a very plausible explanation of Why. And, it does so in an exciting and deeply engaging story with characters equally engaging.